Amherst Hosts Little III Championship

AMHERST, Massachusetts -- Amherst College will host the Little III Cross Country Championship tomorrow, Saturday, October 25. Competing against Wesleyan and Williams, 113 men and women will brave the Amherst course in their quest for the trivalry crown.

The women's race starts at 12:30pm at the base of Memorial Hill, where they will also conclude their 5K course. Defending Little III champion Williams brings a squad of 27 women ranked No. 1 in New England and fourth in the nation. Amherst's pack of 18 claims the No. 9 spot in the region with the hopes of bettering their third-place finish in 1996 Little III competition.

Fifty-eight men will leave the starting gates at 1:15pm for an 8K course. Amherst Co-Captain Rob Mitchell (Worcester, VT) re-set the course best with its first-ever sub-26 minute performance with a 25:56 clocking at the Amherst Invitational in September. Mitchell, who finished 3rd overall at the Division I, II and III New England Championships last week, and his squad of 14 men, rated fourth in New England and 22nd in the country, will look to bounce 27 Ephs out of the top-spot in the trivalry. Williams enters their race with a No. 2 regional ranking and sixth in the nation.

Also at Amherst College, women's tennis is hosting the New England Championships which began today. Final rounds will be played on Sunday beginning at 8:00am. All other varsity teams compete away this weekend as women's volleyball is down the street at the Hall of Fame Tournament at Mount Holyoke and football, men's soccer, women's soccer and field hockey all face Tufts in Medford, Massachusetts.